Valve-stem lubricator and packing



April 15, 1924. 1,490,610

C. L. HINKSON VALVE ST'EM LuBnIcAioR AND PACKING Filed Feb. 26. 19 23 Patented Apr, 15, 1924..

tlNlTED ETATES FATENT @FFlfiiiih CLAIR L. HINKSON, 0F SUPERIOR, NEBRASKA.

VALVE-STEM LUBRIGATOR AND PACKING.

Application filed February 26, 1823, Serial No. 621,255.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAIR L. HrNKsoN, citizen of the United States, and resident of Superior, in the county of Nuckolls and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Stem Lubricators and Packings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved valve stem lubricator and packing, the same being intended primarily for use in associa tion with the stems of puppet valves of internal combustion engines to reduce the likelihood of suchvalves sticking, to deaden the noise of the valve operating mechanism and thereby materially silence the same, and to prevent the leakage of air past the valve stems into and out ofthe engine cylinders, thereby to prevent fouling of explosive charges supplied to the cylinders and to prevent the escape from the cylinders past the valve stems of disagreeable exhaust gases.

With the foregoing and other purposes in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the difierent views Figure 1 is a vertical section of a portion. of an internal combustion engine, showing more particularly a puppet valve thereof and its operating mechanism with my improved lubricator and packing arrangement associated therewith;

Figure 2, a perspective of one of the telescoping elements of my lubricator and packing arrangement; and

Figure 3, a perspective of the other telescoping element.

Referring now to the drawings in detail 10 designates generally an internal combustion engine, the same including a combustion chamber 11, an intake or exhaust passage 12, as the case may be, a puppet valve 13 controlling the flow of fluid through a port between said passage and said combustion chamber, a guide 14- for the stem 15 of said valve, a cam 16 and its follower 17 for opening said valve, and a coil spring 18 for closing the same, all as is well. known and understood in the art,

In accordance with my invention I provide a pair of tubular members 19 and 20, one of which fits neatly within and is tele scopically slidable with respect to the other, and each'of which is provided at'its outer end with a laterally extending flange 21. These members are of considerably larger diameter than the valve stem 15 and are arranged in'enclosing relation to the lower end portion of said stem and to a plural ity of washers 22 of felt or other soft, pliable, absorbent material that surround the stem and fill the space between the latter and said tubular members. At its upper end thc member 19 is seated against a washor 23 of material similar to the washers 22, and said washer 23 in turn is seated against a portion of the engine surrounding the valve stem, whereby leakage of fluid between the upper end of the member 19 and the engine is prevented, and whereby harsh, metallic noises which otherwise might occur as a result otdirect contact of the member 19 with the engine during operation of the latter are avoided, The lower end of member 20 is disposed within and is seated on the bottom of a cup member 24 that is detachabl-y secured to the valve stem in any preferred manner, as by the means indicated at 25, and the coil spring 18 is disposed in embracing relation to the members 19 and 20 and seats at its ends, respectively, on the flanges 21 of said members, whereby it reacts from the engine onto the valve stem to urge said valve normally to closed position. A plurality of openings 26 are provided in the member 20 near its lower end, so that oil which may be placed in the cup member 24 will be absorbed by the washers 22, it being observed in this connection. that the cup member constitutes an oil reservoir requiring only periodical filling and that serves to maintain the absorbent washers 22 saturated with oil at all times.

From the arrangement described in th foregoing and shown in the drawings, it will be observed that the spring 18 serves the vdual function of returning the valve to closed position following movement of the cam 16 to open the same and of returning the members 19 and 20 to normal position following relative telescopic movement imparted thereto when the valve is opened. It also acts to hold the upper end of the member 19 seated against the washer 21 and the lower end of the member 20 in engagement with the cup member 24:, where-- by leakage of all at these points is prevented.

The functioning of my arrangement is apparent; as the valve is lifted by the cam, the Washers 22 are compressed and the oil suspended within the same is squeezed out upon the valve stem thus lubricating the latter. At the same time, compression of the washers serves to seal the valve stem guide opening in the engine against the flow of air into the cylinder, or the flow of exhaust products from the cylinder, thus assuring unvarying explosive charges, as determined by carburetter adjustments being supplied to the cylinder during operation of the engine, and in multiple cylinder engines assuring that each cylinder will receive like charges of explosive mixture. It will also be observed that I secure an exceedingly efiective lubrication of the valve stem 15 in that the washers in the sleeve 19 are excessively com pressed by the upper end of the sleeve 20, whereby an abundant quantity of oil is delivered from said washers at the lower end of the guide 14, from where it can pass easily into the space between the guide and stem.

From the foregoing description, consid ered in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of my 1m provements will be fully understood. It is desired to point out, however, that in lieu of the cup member 24-, I may employ a fiat or substantially flat disk as a seat for the lower end of member 20, in which event the openings 26 of course may or may not be formed in said member as desired; that the rela tively engaging portions of the cup member 24: and the tubular member 20 are of such shape as to maintain the tubular members evenly spaced or concentric with respect to the valve stem; and that instead of a plurality of washers 22 I may employ a single washer or its equivalent in lieu thereof. Fur thermore, my invention, while particularly adapted to puppet valves of internal combustion engines, is not restricted to such use, and moreover, various changes and desirable additions may be made in and to the structure herein disclosed within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

naeeero I claim l. The combination with an engine having a valve'including a stem, and a spring normally urging said valve closed; of a member secured to the valve stem, a pair of tubular, telescoping members surrounding a portion of the valve stem and maintained seated against the engine and said first named member, respectively, by said spring, and means contained within said telescoping members for lubricating said valve stem.

2, The combination with an engine having a valve including a stem; of a pair of tubular members surrounding a portion of the valve stem and having their adjacent end portion telescopically arranged one within the other, a flange on the outer end of each member, the flange of one member seating against the engine, an expansion spring between said fianges, means to support the flange of the other member upon the valve stem, whereby the spring reacts from the engine to maintain the valve normally seated and the telescoping members at their outermost limit of relative movement, and means contained within said telescoping members for lubricating the valve stem.

3. The combination with an engine having a valve including a stem: of a pair of tubular, telescoping members surrounding said stem, a' spring disposed exteriorly of said members and acting normally to urge said members relatively outward and said valve closed, and means interiorly of said members for lubricating the stem of said valve.

4. The combination with an engine having 'a valve including a stem; of a cup member secured to said stem, a tubular member surrounding the stem and seated at one end in sald cup member, a spring reactmg from the engine onto said tubular member to main-i tain the same seated within the cup member and the valve normally closed, and pliable absorbent washers contained within said tubular member and surrounding the valve stem, said tubular members being provided with apertures providing communication between the interior thereof and the cup member whereby oil supplied to the latter will be absorbed by said Washers.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

CLAIR L. HINKSON. 

